Just one update today to the site. The Schedule section has been added, giving details of Red Dwarf related broadcasts for TV and Radio for the next few days. Similar to the Dwarf Tracker on the official site; but that only gives Red Dwarfschedule details. We aim to give details on programmes that members of the cast are involved in as well. We intend to cover cable/digital channels; but for the UK only I’m afraid. Sorry to our worldwide readers, but we just don’t have the time for anything else. We’ll do our best to keep this section as updated and complete as possible, but we’ll obviously miss things from time to time; it’s certainly incomplete as it stands at the moment, but there will be daily updates. It’ll soon get up to speed.

Oh, and if you don’t get the title of this news update, believe me – it’s not worth it.

Yes, I’m back rather earlier than expected – my net access difficulties have all been sorted. Which means regular updates for the site – and rather better regular updates than the last few days, thank fuck. Finally, and despite an earlier news item claiming this had been launched (ahem), The Brittas Empire section is now online. Contained within is the existing Episode Guide, and the new DVD FAQ – containing all the latest information on the DVDs. Expect it to be updated regularly. More Brittasstuff to follow soon, including an in-depth review of the DVDs when they are released.

And last month’s news/updates items have been archived in the May 2003 section. More updates tomorrow, on some actual Dwarf stuff. Yay! And let’s hope some news appears at some point…

A very, very minor update today. The Cast Listhas had yet another revision; detailing Graham Chapman’s planned appearance in the show, and yet more uncredited actors from Series I. A companion Crew List is in preparation. Expect changes to more existing material in the next few weeks. In fact, a lot of changes are due over Summer, including some improvements to page layout and accessibility, and even some – gasp – more pictures. We do spoil you.

With all this self-indulgent look at our site, you might be forgiven for thinking that bugger all is happening in the outside world. Well, you’re right. www.reddwarf.co.uk has had it’s usual Friday update, so head on over there if you haven’t already – but there’s really not much happening at the moment. Ian will have his usual newsround tomorrow. It’s possible I may have to take a break from the news roundups for a while, as I may have sporadic net access over the next couple of weeks – although I’ll still be contributing articles. In which case, I’m leaving you in Ian’s safe hands. God help you.

It’s not news (which seems to be rather thin on the ground at the moment), but I’ve been doing some investigating. Take a look at this – the first mention of Red DwarfI can find on Google’s Usenet archive. Pity the quoted line:

“In fact, we’re going so fast that controlling the ship is a real brown-trouser job.”

is actually correctly:

“Look, we’re travelling faster than the speed of light. That means, by the time we see something, we’ve already passed through it. Even with an IQ of 6000, it’s still brown trousers time.”

I cuss you bad, Kev Holmes. Still, well done. For the record, it was posted on 20th October, 1988 – and the episode in question (Future Echoes) was broadcast 22nd February 1988. Have a look at some more early Red Dwarf posts – go backwards through them to get them in order. I’ve searched all the way to the end of 1989, so if you want to go further than that, you’ll need to change it.

In site updates, I’ve uploaded my reviews of Future Echoes and Balance Of Power. If you disagree with them, why not write a review yourself and send it in? The Edit News article has also been updated, to include a cut to Demons and Angels (see section 9). I only saw the episode recently on UK Gold, and realised I’d been watching the cut episode for years, and never heard the line before. Odd.

A new article for G&T today – a review of the Red Dwarf section of The Sitcom Story, BBC ONE’s version of the history of the sitcom. Bearing in mind the title of this news update, and the title of the article, you may be able to guess that we weren’t entirely convinced by the show.

In smaller updates to the site, the Cast List has undergone a major revision, with the uncredited cast being vastly expanded. The ATVRD Birthday List has also had an update. Finally, although Groovetown has been fairly slow with the updates recently, it has an interesting story on Ruby Wax’s new Radio 2 show on Saturday afternoons. Let’s hope the comic clips contained therein are better selected than The Sitcom Story…

DYSWIDT? That joke was far better than anything Dawn French’s scriptwriters could come up with. On Monday 26th May 2003, Red Dwarf was featured on BBC ONE’s The Sitcom Story, which was a fantastic opportunity to see Del Boy falling through the bar, Basil Fawlty beating his car with a stick and Captain Mainwaring saying […]

Well, I’m back from my dirty weekend, and ready to kick bottom. Sort of. First up, Matt’s Red Dwarf site Back In The Redhas relaunched after a short absence. Gone are the episode guides and character profiles, which you can find elsewhere anyway, and in place is some new, unique content. Hooray!

Friend of the website Karl Eisenhauer has also e-mailed us this interesting report on Danny John-Jules’s new sitcom, The Crouches. It’s set to premiere on BBC ONE this Autumn. Let’s hope it’s good – BBC ONE could really do with a decent sitcom…

Not much in the way of site updates today, although I’ve slightly updated the Links page. Expect something good tomorrow. In the meantime, take a look at the Red Dwarf section of Fingertip Fabrications – modelmaker Steve Howarth’s site. It gives you some real insights into the production of Series VIII, including some great stuff on the time wand. And it has a wonderful picture of the Loading Bay that just begs to be used as a wallpaper. Made to 1:25 scale, and it looks beautiful – and the Starbug crash was the best special effect Series VIII had by a long way. I’ll tell you what – the Wormholes section on www.reddwarf.co.uk is severely underrated…

Oh, and I saw an old Smith & Jones video over the weekend. Not only was it hilarious (I’d forgotten how good they were), but Robert Llewellyn turned up in a song about an Italian restaurant. Which, sadly enough, made my day.

A snivelly little update today, but a much needed boost to our DVD section. As part of our quest to cover every single extra in some way, we’ve written a guide to the Series I Smeg Ups. Just to reiterate past news, Crime Traveller was released today (I still don’t have my copy. Curse you, Play.com), and be sure to watch The Sitcom Story tonight, BBC ONE, 10:50pm. I think I’ve coped pretty well while John’s been away having constant sex with that Jones woman…

The Smeg Ups on the DVDs were rather disappointing for us long-term fans. Not only had we seen them before, on the 1995 Smeg Outs video, the Series I compilation even included out-takes from Series II. This was a darned shame, as the DVDs are near perfect in most other respects. We’ve (or rather, Ian […]

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“But in my book, anytime someone is deliberately unkind about the show, those involved in making it, or the other people who love it, that is how not to do fandom. And I have seen all of those behaviours in the articles on this site.” - felineranger, G&T Comments